England were comfortably placed at 225 for two at stumps after bowling out India for 358 on the second day of the fourth Test in Manchester on Thursday.
From Joe Root vs Jasprit Bumrah's high-stakes chess match to the all-round brilliance of Ben Stokes vs Ravindra Jadeja, and from emerging face-offs like Shubman Gill vs Shoaib Bashir to K L Rahul's test against Chris Woakes, each duel carries weight far beyond statistics.
Jasprit Bumrah had made himself available for three of the five Tests in England and the Indian team management felt it was right to honour the star pacer's call considering his workload, said assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
Fulham held visitors Manchester United to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Sunday.
Jofra Archer will play his first Test in more than four years as he replaces fellow seamer Josh Tongue for the third Test at Lord's.
Chris Gayle has criticised South Africa's stand-in skipper Wiaan Mulder for declaring the innings despite being within reach of Brian Lara's world record Test
Earlier, Suryavanshi ended his season in style with a stroke-filled half-century in their game against CSK in New Delhi on Tuesday.
'Bumrah bowled brilliantly in both the ODI and T20 World Cups. Siraj is also in the same league. To protect him from injuries'
England head coach Brendon McCullum believes India have arrived well-prepared and full of belief for the upcoming five-match Test series
India and England players will push their tired bodies on the line with everything to play for in the fifth and final Test starting at The Oval on Thursday
India equal England's first-innings score of 387 with Test in balance
In the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant stood tall as a beacon of determination, battling through injuries to deliver a string of gutsy, crowd-pleasing knocks that underlined his value to the side.
England have named two uncapped players in Essex duo Sam Cook and Jordan Cox in the squad for the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge later this month.
As a superhero movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has a stale feeling that gets less and less interesting as it progresses before winding up as the usual superhero routine despite the best efforts of its talented cast, notes Mayur Sanap.
With over 500 runs, six crucial catches, the most by an Indian on the tour, Rahul led by example and lived up to his wiseman tag.
Gill earns glory with maiden double hundred, puts India on top in second Test
Atherton reckons that in his three years at the helm, the series against India is Stokes' sternest test of leadership qualities.
It took eight years for Karun Nair to don India jersey again but 25 days into his second coming in Test cricket, the Karnataka batter could well have played his last international game
Archer played in his first first-class match in four years during Sussex's County Championship game against Durham at Chester-le-Street on Sunday and took one wicket for 32 from 18 overs.
Teenager Eddie Jack's call-up comes at a time when England's pace stocks are depleted with less than 10 days to go for the opening Test.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Test between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Friday
Scottie Scheffler sealed his first British Open triumph by four shots as he turned the final day of the tournament into a procession at Royal Portrush on Sunday.
Across five fiercely contested Tests, more than 7,000 runs were scored, including a record-equalling 21 individual centuries. Every match stretched into a gripping fifth day. The sun shone, the stands were full, and the cricket -- emotional, enthralling, and endlessly unpredictable -- captured imaginations around the world.
Joe Root produced a batting masterclass on way to a milestone 38th hundred as England exploited a jaded Indian bowling attack to stamp their dominance on the fourth Test in Manchester.
'I hope we don't go too far with praising him, but you cannot step back from the fact that tonight was absolutely mind-blowing, otherworldly.'
'We're witnessing the rise of a phenom.'
India finished day three of the second Test on 64/1 to lead England by 244 runs after they dismissed the hosts for 407 in the first innings at Edgbaston on Friday.
'He's lucky to be part of Rajasthan Royals and under Rahul Dravid, because Rahul Dravid is one of those cricketers who almost symbolises how to keep it low-key.'
Akash Deep's 10-wicket match-haul sets up famous win for India in the second Test against England at Edgbaston.
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the fifth Test against England?
'He has become a new hope for Indian cricket.'
Harsimrat Kaur Randhawa, a 21-year-old Indian student, was killed by a stray bullet in Canada while waiting at a bus stop. Her family has urged the Indian government and the Punjab government to assist in bringing back her body. Randhawa, a student at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, was fatally struck by a bullet during a shooting incident involving two vehicles. The Consulate General of India in Toronto is in contact with her family and providing assistance. The Hamilton Police are investigating the incident as a homicide.
India's batting faltered under pressure as they suffered a 22-run defeat in the third Test against England, at Lord's.
Norwich City winger Borja Sainz has been suspended for six matches and fined 12,000 pounds ($14,749) for spitting at an opponent.
Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho ended goal droughts and Bruno Fernandes scored again to earn a 3-0 win at struggling Leicester City.
Thomas Frank will take charge of a club that will take part in next year's Champions League after they won the Europa League last month in Bilbao.
England skipper Ben Stokes on Thursday said the hosts don't think the absence of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin makes India any lesser side as their "ginormous" talent pool is enough to fill the void.
Rajasthan Royals' 14-year-old opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi slammed a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans.
Plenty of hopes will rest on the young shoulders of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who, at the age of just 23, has earned a reputation as one of the world's best openers in the longest format of the game.
Sunderland stun Sheffield United in playoff to return to Premier League
